[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.13,0:00:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi, I am Paul Bloom and I’m a Professor\Nof Psychology at Yale University.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.86,0:00:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what I want to do today is talk about the field psychology, the science\Nof the human mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.32,0:00:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I’m admittedly biased, but I think\Npsychology is the most interesting of all
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.05,0:00:32.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fields.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.05,0:00:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s the most interesting because it’s\Nabout us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.03,0:00:38.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s about the most important and intimate\Naspects of our lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.34,0:00:43.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about language and\Nperception. It's about our memory of things, it's about our dreams
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.69,0:00:47.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Love, hate. It's about morality our sense of right and wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.60,0:00:53.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about when things go wrong, as in depression or anxiety,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.43,0:00:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's about happiness.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.02,0:00:58.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's about everything that matters to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.56,0:01:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Psychology is a huge field and it breaks up into different sub fields.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.44,0:01:06.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some psychologists study the brain, they study neuroscience,.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.88,0:01:09.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question of how this physical lump of flesh we have
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.86,0:01:13.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gives rise to our mental life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.05,0:01:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Others, like me, are Developmental Psychologists.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.68,0:01:21.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We study how babies turn into children and how children turn into adults.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.38,0:01:24.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How does a baby or child think differently than an adult.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.48,0:01:26.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How much of it is hardwired?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.58,0:01:27.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How much of it do we have to learn?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.81,0:01:30.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some psychologists study Social Psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.53,0:01:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which concerns the relationship of people to other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.76,0:01:38.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As with regard to question like prejudice or persuasion.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.63,0:01:40.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Others are Cognitive Psychologists.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.25,0:01:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cognitive psychologist treats the brain like a complicated computer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.93,0:01:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And asks questions like how do we solve computation problems
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.36,0:01:52.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like understanding language or recognizing faces or remembering facts.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.22,0:01:56.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some Psychologists approach this from an evolutionary perspective
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.47,0:02:00.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Looking at the question of how the mind evolved.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.53,0:02:03.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how the origin, the evolutionary origins of the mind
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.91,0:02:08.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,give us insight into how we think in the here and now.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.25,0:02:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many people when they think of psychology they think of clinical psychology
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.01,0:02:14.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they think of Dr. Phil and Freud and
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.90,0:02:17.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people who are involved with mental illness.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.23,0:02:19.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and alot of psychologists do study this.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.68,0:02:24.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One huge and important field of psychology involves exploring the
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.03,0:02:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,diagnosis and the causes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.97,0:02:29.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and particularly the treatments mental illnesses.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.32,0:02:31.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Illnesses like schizophrenia, depression,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.93,0:02:34.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,obsessive compulsive disorders, phobias.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.59,0:02:36.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so many other things.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.40,0:02:39.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to talk about 3 separate case studies.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.14,0:02:41.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm going to talk about compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.63,0:02:44.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,racism, and sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.99,0:02:48.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm going to use these case studies as a way
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.18,0:02:50.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to introduce you to psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.35,0:02:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first case study is compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.16,0:02:57.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what I mean by compassion\Nis concern for other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.39,0:03:00.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is particularly interesting to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.02,0:03:05.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is my own research program and my own\Nlaboratory at Yale; we look at the emergence
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.91,0:03:08.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of morality in babies and young children.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.47,0:03:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we particularly focus on the emergence\Nof compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.05,0:03:14.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At what point in development do babies care\Nabout others?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.43,0:03:20.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At what point in development does feelings\Nof empathy and sympathy, sometimes anger,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.81,0:03:23.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,guilt, other moral emotions.\NHow do they arise?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.78,0:03:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To what extent are they built in?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.03,0:03:28.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To what extent do they have to be learned?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.11,0:03:33.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a starting point, I have here a picture\Nof a baby
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.66,0:03:36.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and inside the baby’s head is\Nthe baby’s brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.66,0:03:40.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The baby’s brain is an extraordinary computing\Nmachine.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.09,0:03:41.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are by some estimates
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.98,0:03:45.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,100 billion neurons in a babies brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.29,0:03:48.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now neurons are basic cells
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.29,0:03:50.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that process and transmit information.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.63,0:03:56.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And by one estimate, there’s about 1.8 million\Nconnections between neurons that are created
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.15,0:03:58.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,per second.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.06,0:04:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To give you a feeling of the complexity of\Nthe baby’s brain, I use an analogy from
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.50,0:04:04.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jeff Hawkins.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.50,0:04:05.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine a football stadium.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.96,0:04:12.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fill it up with cooked spaghetti, then shrink\Nit to the size of a soccer ball.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.63,0:04:16.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then make it much, much, much denser.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.50,0:04:18.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then you’ll have some understanding\N
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.17,0:04:21.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of how much is going on inside a brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.53,0:04:23.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inside even a babies brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.66,0:04:25.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, that much we know for sure,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.78,0:04:27.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but where the real debate goes on
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.90,0:04:29.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,concerns the nature
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.77,0:04:31.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of that computational structure.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.47,0:04:39.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s one of view that is held by many\N
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.60,0:04:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,philosophers and many psychologists which is that the
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.16,0:04:48.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,brain starts off as a blank slate, what the\Nphilosopher, John Locke, called “a Tabula\NRasa.”
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.17,0:04:53.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what goes on in development, the point\Nof all those connections per second is learning,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.93,0:04:56.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is sucking up information from the environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.62,0:05:03.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The baby starts off knowing nothing and turns\Ninto an adult, by virtue of absorbing information
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.67,0:05:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a tremendously powerful rate.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.66,0:05:10.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many philosophers and many psychologists,\Nincluding me and my colleagues are more enamored
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.85,0:05:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of another view.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.50,0:05:14.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We don’t deny that learning takes place,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.90,0:05:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we would argue that in addition to that,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.10,0:05:22.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is an extraordinary early understanding,\Nearly specialization.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.68,0:05:27.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The brain could better be understood in terms\Nof what the psychologists, Leda Cosmides and
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.24,0:05:31.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,John Tooby, described as a Swiss Army knife,\Nhas many different parts.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.73,0:05:35.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And each part is specialized for a different\Nfunction.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.44,0:05:40.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, so much of the action in psychology has\Nbeen a running debate over which view is right.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.19,0:05:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this concerns morality.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.12,0:05:45.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Both moral judgements
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.15,0:05:46.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right and wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.17,0:05:47.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also moral feelings
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.70,0:05:50.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.87,0:05:56.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many people would argue that in that regard,\Nthe baby starts off with nothing.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.99,0:05:59.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea is that children start off immoral,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.13,0:06:01.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,monsters or if not monsters,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.22,0:06:03.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at least they know not from good and evil.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.80,0:06:06.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is not the view which I think is supported\Nby the data.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.72,0:06:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think there is now more and more data in\Nsupport of a different view of compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:11.05,0:06:12.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One way to make a baby cry
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.91,0:06:15.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to expose it to the cries of other babies.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.18,0:06:17.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s sort of contagiousness to the crying.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.70,0:06:18.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s not just crying.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.78,0:06:25.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also know that if a baby sees another human\Nin silent pain, it will distress the baby.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.70,0:06:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It seems part of our very nature is to suffer\Nat the suffering of others.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.79,0:06:32.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that young babies,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.78,0:06:37.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they become capable of moving voluntarily will share.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.45,0:06:39.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They will share food, for instance,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.20,0:06:41.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their siblings and with kids that are around.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.02,0:06:43.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They will sooth.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.41,0:06:48.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If they see somebody else in pain, even the\Nyoungest of toddlers will try to reach out
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.31,0:06:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and pat the person.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.75,0:06:51.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe hand over a toy.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.37,0:06:56.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s some lovely studies finding that\Nslightly older children are able to help others
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.55,0:07:01.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they see somebody who is unable to fulfill\Na goal, they’ll seek out to come to their
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.76,0:07:02.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aid.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.76,0:07:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So one elegant demonstration of this comes\Nfrom a recent set of experiments
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.46,0:07:08.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Where they take a toddler
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.76,0:07:10.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put him or her in a situation
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.24,0:07:12.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where an adult is in some sort of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.07,0:07:14.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mild distress and see if the toddler
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.38,0:07:16.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will voluntarily help
Dialogue: 0,0:07:16.28,0:07:17.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even without any prompting.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.83,0:07:19.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they find that toddlers typically do.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.29,0:07:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There seems to be some sort of impulse in\Nus that’s altruistic, that’s kind, that’s
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.60,0:07:27.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,compassionate.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.30,0:07:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In all of these cases; however, the kindness\Nthat we see seems to apply to people who are
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.36,0:07:36.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,close to us, who are either physically in\N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.09,0:07:39.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our proximity or who are our siblings or our\N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.49,0:07:41.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,parents or our friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.87,0:07:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the question arises, how broad does this\Ncompassion extend?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.02,0:07:50.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now some people would argue that we start\Noff with a very broad compassion, we would
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.30,0:07:53.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extend it to all individuals, to all people.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.58,0:07:57.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there’s evidence support a somewhat\Ndifferent view, which is, there’s a moral
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.58,0:08:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instinct in us, there’s a moral sense in\Nus, but it’s initially very narrow.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.50,0:08:03.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s only triggered by those close to us.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.78,0:08:10.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, our natural default feelings towards\Na stranger, far from being compassionate,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.31,0:08:14.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is actually some sort of mixture of fear and\Nhatred.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.00,0:08:22.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We see this in all sorts of different ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.31,0:08:26.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in young children, we see it in what’s\Ncalled, “stranger anxiety.”
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.08,0:08:31.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At around nine months of age, babies start\Nbecoming panicked at the presence of strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.43,0:08:34.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it sees to capture a universal part
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.39,0:08:38.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of development where the other is thought of as dangerous.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.24,0:08:42.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This sort of stranger anxiety fades in some\Ncultures.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.08,0:08:44.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you were to find yourself in an airport\N
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.07,0:08:46.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a new city, you’re not likely to have\N
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.27,0:08:48.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a panic attack because you’re surrounded\N
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.43,0:08:50.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by people you don’t know. But in small scale
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.98,0:08:54.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,human societies, it might never go away.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.27,0:08:59.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a situation when an individual is raised\Nwith a few hundred other individuals around
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.59,0:09:03.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them, that is their circle of compassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.07,0:09:06.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And their response to others is not positive.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.17,0:09:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is an observation that’s been made\N
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.14,0:09:10.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by many anthropologists who study small scale
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.91,0:09:12.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,societies.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.01,0:09:17.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for instance, anthropologist, Jared Diamond,\Ntalking about small scale societies in papua new guinea
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.80,0:09:22.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writes, “To venture out of one’s\Nterritory to meet other humans, even if they
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.93,0:09:27.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lived only a few miles away, was equivalent\Nto suicide.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.37,0:09:34.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many years before, Margaret Meade was talking\Nabout the lifestyles of what were called at
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.59,0:09:36.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the time, “primitive cultures.”
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.64,0:09:39.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And she is famously a supporter of these lifestyles.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.70,0:09:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She argues that the Western world would be\Nmuch better if we were to adopt the customs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.62,0:09:49.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thoughts and ideas, particularly in regard\Nto sexuality of these other societies.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.94,0:09:55.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But she was very honest and very blunt about\Nhow members of these societies treat strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.69,0:09:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She writes: “Most primitive tribes feel\Nthat if you run across one of those sub humans
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.99,0:10:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from a rival group in the forest, the most\Nappropriate thing to do is bludgeon them to
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.95,0:10:04.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,death.”
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.95,0:10:11.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’ve talked about fear and hatred, but there’s\Na third sort of response that we often give\Nto strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.56,0:10:14.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is disgust.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.93,0:10:20.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Disgust is what Paul Rozin described as the\N“body/soul emotion,” is a human universal.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.55,0:10:23.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans everywhere are disgusted by certain\Nthings.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.72,0:10:32.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are disgusted by feces, urine, blood, vomit,\Nrotten flesh, and most meat.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.19,0:10:34.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Disgust has a characteristic facial response\N
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.62,0:10:35.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,<<>>
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.66,0:10:38.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and its easy part of our natures.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.38,0:10:45.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, if it was limited to food and cockroaches\Nand that sort of thing, it wouldn’t have
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.49,0:10:47.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anything to do with my talk on compassion.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.98,0:10:51.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what’s most interesting is that we’re\Noften disgusted by other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.59,0:10:54.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Particularly, we’re often disgusted by strange\Npeople.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.28,0:10:56.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By definition
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.08,0:10:58.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any category of human individuals
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.67,0:11:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is something you either
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.04,0:11:02.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,belong to, or you don't.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.08,0:11:04.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's either what psychologists call
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.16,0:11:06.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an in group or an out group.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.56,0:11:09.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we have laboratory research that explores
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.17,0:11:12.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the relationship between feelings of disgust
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.18,0:11:13.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and feelings towards out groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:13.86,0:11:18.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we know for instance that people differ\Nin how easily disgusted they are.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.99,0:11:19.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You do a survey of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.99,0:11:23.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You ask them questions like, how badly would\Nthis bother you.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.96,0:11:27.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So one of the questions might be, you have\Nto pick up a dead cat with your hands.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.57,0:11:30.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there’s some people who say, “uh, whatever.”\N
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.88,0:11:32.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some people, “Oh my god!
Dialogue: 0,0:11:32.39,0:11:33.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’d rather die”.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.70,0:11:35.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, you sit on a city bus seat
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.62,0:11:37.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it’s warm from the last person
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.92,0:11:39.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who was on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.43,0:11:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And some people crack up, well why would that\Nbother me?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.67,0:11:44.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other people say, “That’s very disturbing.”
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.53,0:11:46.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People differ in how sensitive they are to\Ndisgust.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.53,0:11:52.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out that where you stand with regard\Nto disgust correlates with your feelings about
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.28,0:11:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.28,0:11:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It correlates with your feelings about immigrants;\Nit correlates with your feelings about sexual
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.93,0:12:01.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,minorities, in particular male homosexuals.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.73,0:12:08.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more easily disgusted you are, the more\Naversion you find to these others.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.28,0:12:10.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We also know this experimentally.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:10.86,0:12:15.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that by making people be disgusted,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.36,0:12:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can make them meaner. I’ll give you an example of this.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.86,0:12:23.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is from a study I was involved with,\Nwith David Pizarro at Cornell University as
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.25,0:12:24.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lead investigator.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.82,0:12:28.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What we did was we brought people into the\Nlab… into a lab at Cornell.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.69,0:12:32.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we asked him all sorts of questions regarding\Ntheir feelings towards different groups and
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.86,0:12:33.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,different policies.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.86,0:12:35.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do you think of African-Americans?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.51,0:12:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do you think of gay men?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.07,0:12:39.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What do you think of welfare?\NWhat do you think of immigration?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.77,0:12:41.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so on and so forth.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.44,0:12:43.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half the people just filled it out and went\Nhome.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.59,0:12:46.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other half of the subjects went into the\Nroom, got the same survey.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:46.74,0:12:49.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the difference was, before they entered\Nthe room
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.33,0:12:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we sprayed the room with a fart spray.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.60,0:12:55.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That’s the first experiment I’ve ever\Nbeen involved with that used a fart spray.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.78,0:12:58.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People would be kind of grossed out.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.57,0:13:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it would make them meaner.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.32,0:13:04.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not towards everything, but it would make\N
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.16,0:13:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,them particularly meaner towards out groups,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.84,0:13:07.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like male homosexuals.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.84,0:13:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this supports the idea that there’s\Na connection in our minds between a visceral
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.45,0:13:16.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,emotion of disgust and our feelings towards\Nothers.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:16.73,0:13:20.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what I’ve argued is, we do have a natural compassion,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.23,0:13:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it’s limited. It does not naturally extend to others.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.11,0:13:25.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that raises a puzzle
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.88,0:13:29.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you and me and everyone else we know
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.70,0:13:33.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can extend our compassion to strangers.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.14,0:13:36.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To put it in the language that the philosopher Peter Singer has used,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.04,0:13:37.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Our moral circle has expanded.”
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.65,0:13:42.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It might be that our ancestors, it might be the people in small scale societies only
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.67,0:13:45.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cared about their family and friends.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.16,0:13:48.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we have a broader circle of compassion.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.65,0:13:51.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think about we care about people in other countries.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.35,0:13:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We care about people from other races.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.62,0:13:56.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We care about people we’ve never seen before\Nand we never will see.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.99,0:14:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When some sort of disaster strikes like a\Ntsunami or a hurricane, many
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.94,0:14:08.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of us give our resources, even our blood,\Nto help out people we’ve never met before.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:08.48,0:14:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that poses a neat psychological puzzle.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.00,0:14:17.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What forces take our narrow moral circle,\Nour narrow scope of compassion and
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.99,0:14:20.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bigger and expand it to care for these others?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.40,0:14:22.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I think that there are a lot of different\Nanswers to that question.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:22.92,0:14:27.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert Wright, for instance, has argued that\None force in expanding the moral circle has
Dialogue: 0,0:14:27.87,0:14:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,been human interconnections in commerce, in\Ninternational travel and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:32.73,0:14:37.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more people you know, the more people\Nyou have contact with, the more we are interconnected
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.59,0:14:44.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the world, the more you might care about\Nthem in a sort of self-interested altruism
Dialogue: 0,0:14:44.35,0:14:48.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where you care about them because they’re\Nfates are intertwined with yours.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:48.65,0:14:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think that there’s a lot of value\Nin that insight.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.58,0:14:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I want to focus on a more
Dialogue: 0,0:14:53.38,0:14:55.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,psychological more individual based mechanism.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.77,0:14:57.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for expanding our the moral circle.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.04,0:15:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A mechanism that happens to individuals
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.16,0:15:01.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they get older
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.26,0:15:02.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of devleopment.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:02.45,0:15:06.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is, their sympathies expand because of a certain
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.27,0:15:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of persuasion.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:12.43,0:15:17.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to suggest that there is psychological\Nevidence that supports the idea that we can
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.34,0:15:20.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expand our compassion, our moral circle to\N\N
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.54,0:15:23.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,far away strangers by being made to think
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.88,0:15:26.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of them as if they are individual people.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.23,0:15:29.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think of them as if they’re our friends and family.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.47,0:15:31.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We think of them as if they are right in front\Nof us.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.77,0:15:38.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Joseph Stalin famously said, “A single death\Nis a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.”
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.88,0:15:43.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Mother Theresa presented a similar sentiment\Nwhen she said, “If I look at the mass, I
Dialogue: 0,0:15:43.82,0:15:44.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will never act.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.82,0:15:47.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I look at the one, I will.”
Dialogue: 0,0:15:47.89,0:15:51.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Psychologists like Paul Slovic has explored this in the lab.\N\N
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.03,0:15:53.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for instance, they would do a study where
Dialogue: 0,0:15:53.21,0:15:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would have an appeal for a charity.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:55.50,0:15:58.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact, they would take the money they\Ngot and send it to the charity.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.59,0:16:05.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they would, for one group of subjects,\Ndescribe the problem in terms of statistics,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.87,0:16:09.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in terms of numbers, in terms of the millions\Nof people suffering, a sort of suffering a
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.63,0:16:13.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,proportion of the population who is in desperate\Nneed.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.31,0:16:17.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they found that people would give say,\Nroughly a dollar.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:17.25,0:16:20.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For the other group, they didn’t bother\Nwith statistics at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.01,0:16:24.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They didn’t bother trying to impress them\Nwith the huge number of people suffering.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.35,0:16:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They told them a story about a single individual.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.69,0:16:31.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They had a picture of that individual, they\Ngave her a name.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.63,0:16:34.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when you do that, you find that people\Nare far more generous.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.80,0:16:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It’s a far more powerful effect on their\Ncompassion.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.83,0:16:39.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They will give, roughly, twice as much.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.00,0:16:43.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Charities, when they try to appeal for people’s\N\N\N
Dialogue: 0,0:16:43.36,0:16:46.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,help, won’t throw numbers at you.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:46.28,0:16:47.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They typically won’t because they know that
Dialogue: 0,0:16:47.76,0:16:48.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,doesn’t work.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:48.72,0:16:53.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The way to extend people’s compassion, the\Nway to motivate altruistic action is to appeal
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.49,0:16:58.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to some very natural, very hardwired systems\Nwithin us that respond to individual people.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:58.65,0:17:05.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it’s a tremendously\Npersuasive way for a charity to work.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:05.26,0:17:09.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think more generally, as part of the\Nstory for how our compassion can get bigger
Dialogue: 0,0:17:09.35,0:17:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and bigger.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:11.65,0:17:13.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People talk about moral progress.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.63,0:17:15.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People have argued that through our history,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:15.97,0:17:18.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our moral circles have been expanding.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:18.74,0:17:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We now live in a world where people believe\Nwe have moral obligations to other races,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:23.79,0:17:28.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other nationalities that sexism and racism\Nare immoral.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:28.46,0:17:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consider the end of slavery in the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:31.62,0:17:37.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are a lot of different factors that\Nled to the end of slavery, but many historians
Dialogue: 0,0:17:37.24,0:17:43.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would argue that one of the forces that led\Nmany white Americans to believe slavery was
Dialogue: 0,0:17:43.76,0:17:49.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wrong was persuasion, in particular, it was\Nthe work of the author Harriett Beecher Stowe
Dialogue: 0,0:17:49.25,0:17:52.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:52.36,0:17:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this book, she didn’t make logical arguments;\Nshe didn’t make theological points or philosophical
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.40,0:17:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,proposals.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:59.40,0:18:03.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rather, she got her readers to extend their\Nsympathies.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:03.21,0:18:04.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this had a profound effect.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:04.66,0:18:07.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It had a profound effect persuading them that\N\N
Dialogue: 0,0:18:07.88,0:18:09.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slavery was wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.33,0:18:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so part of morality, part of right and wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:18:12.55,0:18:16.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is intimately connected with compassion over our feelings towards others.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:16.14,0:18:19.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some scholars like David Hume,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:19.21,0:18:21.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,argue that a sense of empathy, a sense of compassion
Dialogue: 0,0:18:21.82,0:18:25.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is aptly central to becoming a fully moral being.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:25.74,0:18:27.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And certainly notions of right and wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:18:27.96,0:18:30.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come up in the domain of race.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:30.22,0:18:33.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cause the very question of forming stereotypes
Dialogue: 0,0:18:33.10,0:18:37.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and forming attitudes towards human groups is morally fraught.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:41.16,0:18:44.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second case study I want to talk about\Nis racism.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:44.97,0:18:49.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I want to begin by making a connection\Nto a branch of cognitive psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:49.06,0:18:54.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In particular the branch of cognitive psychology\Nthat deals with how we make sense of the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:54.74,0:19:00.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How we naturally form categories of the things\Nwe see and the things we interact with.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:00.96,0:19:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cognitive psychologists have pointed out that in order to survive in the world, we have to make generalizations.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:08.98,0:19:13.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You probably have never seen those three pictures\NI have up here, but you immediately know that
Dialogue: 0,0:19:13.44,0:19:17.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one is a dog and one is an apple and one is\Na chair.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:17.81,0:19:21.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You will also have intuitions about these\Nthings… you’ll make generalizations.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:21.37,0:19:27.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You’ll believe the dog can bark, the apple\Nis something you can eat, a chair is something
Dialogue: 0,0:19:27.31,0:19:28.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can sit on.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:28.79,0:19:32.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you probably also realize that there\Nare exceptions to this.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:32.70,0:19:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some dogs are silent, some apples are poisonous,\Nsome chairs will collapse if you sit on them,\N
Dialogue: 0,0:19:37.52,0:19:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but still if you couldn’t make those generalizations,\Nif you didn’t recognize that some properties
Dialogue: 0,0:19:43.92,0:19:49.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tend to co-occur with some objects, you would\Nbe helpless in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:49.62,0:19:54.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You wouldn’t know what to eat, you wouldn’t\Nknow how anything would react; you wouldn’t
Dialogue: 0,0:19:54.81,0:19:56.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,survive.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:56.70,0:20:01.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Part of being a successful human, in fact,\Npart of being any successful animal is being
Dialogue: 0,0:20:01.43,0:20:02.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,able to learn.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:02.49,0:20:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a good part of what learning is is to\Nmake statistical generalizations on the basis
Dialogue: 0,0:20:07.64,0:20:09.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of limited experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:09.48,0:20:14.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You eat a thousand apples, they all taste\Npretty good, you conclude, I can eat apples,
Dialogue: 0,0:20:14.64,0:20:15.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,apples taste good.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:15.64,0:20:18.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when you’re hungry, you reach for the apple.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:20:18.36,0:20:21.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is adaptive, it is rational, it is reasonable.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:21.82,0:20:24.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But now there’s a twist.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:24.68,0:20:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The twist is that some of the categories that\Nwe form are categories of people.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:20:29.08,0:20:35.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We form categories on the basis of sex, of age, of
Dialogue: 0,0:20:35.48,0:20:44.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,race, profession, religion, sexual orientation,\Nnationality, and where the person lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:48.89,0:20:52.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we form categories of people, we often call these stereotypes.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:52.58,0:20:56.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, stereotype may sound like a bad word,\Nbut there’s nothing bad about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:20:56.73,0:21:00.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For one thing, stereotypes are often accurate.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:00.17,0:21:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We’re reasonably good statistical learners,\Nand so we tend to be reasonably accurate.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:04.67,0:21:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Also, stereotypes are often positive, particularly\Nof groups that we ourselves belong to.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:09.76,0:21:14.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of the statistical generalizations may\Nbe correct and may be positive as some groups
Dialogue: 0,0:21:14.91,0:21:21.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have reputations for being smart, for being\Nloyal, for being brave, for all sorts of things
Dialogue: 0,0:21:21.25,0:21:23.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are not at all negative.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:23.64,0:21:27.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so there’s nothing inherently wrong\Nabout stereotypes.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:27.39,0:21:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand there are several problems with stereotypes.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:31.18,0:21:37.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For one thing, they’re reliable insofar\Nas they’re based on a sample, an unbiased
Dialogue: 0,0:21:37.20,0:21:38.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sample, of the population.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:21:38.78,0:21:43.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a lot of the information we get about\Nhuman groups is through biased sources like
Dialogue: 0,0:21:43.74,0:21:46.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how they’re represented in the media.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:46.06,0:21:52.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if these sources don’t give you an accurate\Nrendition, you’re a stereotype won’t be
Dialogue: 0,0:21:52.11,0:21:53.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,accurate.
Dialogue: 0,0:21:53.46,0:21:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, many Italian-Americans were upset\Nat the depiction of Italian-Americans in a
Dialogue: 0,0:21:57.93,0:22:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,television show, “The Sopranos.”
Dialogue: 0,0:22:00.30,0:22:04.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is because, if you are in an area where\Nthe only Italian-Americans you meet are those
Dialogue: 0,0:22:04.50,0:22:07.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you see on TV and those you see on “The\NSopranos,” you’re going to think they’re
Dialogue: 0,0:22:07.43,0:22:09.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all mobsters.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:09.35,0:22:13.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many Jews historically have been troubled\Nby Shakespeare’s depiction of Shylock.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:13.48,0:22:18.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the only Jew you know is Shakespeare’s\NShylock, again, it’s going to be a very
Dialogue: 0,0:22:18.46,0:22:19.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bad impression.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:19.95,0:22:26.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so one problem with stereotypes is while\Nwe have accurate statistical mechanisms for
Dialogue: 0,0:22:26.29,0:22:31.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,taking in information and drawing conclusions\Nfrom them, often our information isn’t reliable
Dialogue: 0,0:22:31.05,0:22:35.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and often this can lead to the formation of\Nstereotypes that aren’t right.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:35.08,0:22:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A second problem is that stereotypes regardless\Nof whether or not they’re accurate can have
Dialogue: 0,0:22:40.45,0:22:43.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a negative effect on the people that they apply to.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:22:43.20,0:22:48.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is what the psychologist, Claude\NSteele, described as stereotype threat.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:48.59,0:22:51.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So he has a vivid example of this.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:51.14,0:22:55.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here’s how to make African-Americans do\Nworse on a math test.
Dialogue: 0,0:22:55.94,0:23:01.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You have the test and you put on the test\Nthat they have to identify their race.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:01.04,0:23:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The very act of acknowledging that their African-American\Nwhen given a test ignites in them thoughts
Dialogue: 0,0:23:07.54,0:23:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of their own stereotype, which isn’t positive,\Nwhich is negative regarding academics and
Dialogue: 0,0:23:12.04,0:23:13.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that makes them do worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:13.11,0:23:16.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Want to know how to make a woman do worse\Non a math test?
Dialogue: 0,0:23:16.82,0:23:19.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Same thing, get her to write down her sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:19.81,0:23:22.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One recent study found a sort of clever twist\Non this.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:22.94,0:23:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The study involved testing Asian-American\Nwomen.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:26.28,0:23:29.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Turns out, when Asian-American women are given\Na test and they’re asked to mark down their
Dialogue: 0,0:23:29.74,0:23:32.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,race, they do better than they would otherwise\Ndo.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:32.28,0:23:36.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They’re reminded of the stereotype, but\Nas a positive stereotype and it bumps them
Dialogue: 0,0:23:36.04,0:23:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:37.12,0:23:41.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You ask them, on the other hand, to mark down\Ntheir sex, they do worse because they’re
Dialogue: 0,0:23:41.49,0:23:45.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,women and that’s a negative stereotype towards\Nwomen.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:45.08,0:23:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That’s an example of how stereotypes have\Na potentially damaging effect on people.
Dialogue: 0,0:23:50.58,0:23:57.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A third problem with stereotypes is, in some\Nway, our stereotypes of human groups are like
Dialogue: 0,0:23:57.17,0:24:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our categories of dogs and apples and chairs.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:01.88,0:24:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there’s a way in which they aren’t.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:04.22,0:24:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We’re not dogs and apples and chairs.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:07.18,0:24:09.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we are members of human groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:09.49,0:24:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this fact of how you connect with the\Ncategory has an effect on how you think of
Dialogue: 0,0:24:16.49,0:24:17.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the category.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:17.63,0:24:21.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s a lot of evidence suggesting that\Nwhen you’re a member of the category, you
Dialogue: 0,0:24:21.75,0:24:22.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,boost it.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:22.75,0:24:24.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You give it higher qualities.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:24.25,0:24:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People in your group are smarter or nicer,\Nthey’re more deserving and so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:28.08,0:24:35.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand, if it’s an out group,\Nif it’s another category, particularly if
Dialogue: 0,0:24:35.06,0:24:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it’s a category that you’re in some way\Ncompeting against, the category gets denigrated.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:40.08,0:24:43.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We see some vivid historical example of this.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:43.64,0:24:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In one study in 1942, Americans were asked\Nto describe the top two features of Russians.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:24:50.26,0:24:54.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they described them as brave and hard-working.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:54.56,0:24:57.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1948, they were asked the same question.
Dialogue: 0,0:24:57.10,0:25:00.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They described them as cruel and conceited.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:00.30,0:25:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Russians didn’t change, what changed\Nwas our relationship to them over the intervening
Dialogue: 0,0:25:05.66,0:25:11.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,years; they went from being part of a group\Nthat we were a part of to the out group.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:25:11.13,0:25:14.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The final problem with stereotypes is a moral\None.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:15.83,0:25:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even if stereotypes are perfectly accurate,\Neven if they’re accurate summaries of the
Dialogue: 0,0:25:22.84,0:25:26.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,statistics of a group, there are many cases\Nwhere we believe that it’s morally wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:25:26.87,0:25:31.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to judge somebody based on their group membership.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:31.69,0:25:34.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should judge them as individuals.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:42.40,0:25:45.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For all of these reasons, and maybe mostly\Nfor the last one,
Dialogue: 0,0:25:45.53,0:25:50.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there’s an interesting tension in how we think about other groups.
Dialogue: 0,0:25:50.76,0:25:56.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the one hand, we want to be consciously\Negalitarian, consciously non-racist, consciously
Dialogue: 0,0:25:56.78,0:26:02.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thinking of individuals as individuals and\Nnot letting stereotypes, particularly ugly
Dialogue: 0,0:26:02.01,0:26:04.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stereotypes affect our judgments.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:04.93,0:26:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there’s some evidence that we succeed\Nat this.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:07.96,0:26:11.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You look at the statistics, for instance,\Nwhat you see in this graph, is there are a\N
Dialogue: 0,0:26:11.69,0:26:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,portion of Americans who say they would vote\Nfor a qualified African-American to be President.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:17.24,0:26:21.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what you could see is, at a certain point\Nby the mid-nineties, just about everybody
Dialogue: 0,0:26:21.42,0:26:22.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,says, that they would.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:22.66,0:26:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the election of Barrack Obama shows that\Nthis wasn’t just people lying when asked\N
Dialogue: 0,0:26:27.36,0:26:33.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,questions, it really reflects an honest to god consciously egalitarian viewpoint.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:33.91,0:26:37.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand, we also have an unconscious\Nsystem.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:37.51,0:26:44.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And an unconscious system is more statistics\Ndriven, more biased and less sensitive to
Dialogue: 0,0:26:44.53,0:26:46.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,moral concerns.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:46.17,0:26:52.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you get a tension between the conscious\Negalitarian system and the unconscious system,
Dialogue: 0,0:26:52.73,0:26:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is often driven by bias.
Dialogue: 0,0:26:55.50,0:27:00.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This conscious, this unconscious system is\Ndata-driven
Dialogue: 0,0:27:00.18,0:27:05.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it is a lot less sensitive to our\Nmoral concerns than the conscious system.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:05.43,0:27:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One striking example of unconscious biases involves
Dialogue: 0,0:27:08.70,0:27:11.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,being shown these two faces.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:11.26,0:27:14.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And asked who is more American?
Dialogue: 0,0:27:14.83,0:27:17.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well at some level this is a ridiculous question.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:17.18,0:27:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You would laugh when they hear it.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:18.94,0:27:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Barack Obama is more American cause he's like American.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:22.06,0:27:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tony Blair is British.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:24.60,0:27:27.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But unconsciously you can ask the same question.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:27.43,0:27:31.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see how quickly it takes to associate
Dialogue: 0,0:27:31.31,0:27:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these faces with words like American or not American.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:35.05,0:27:39.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it turns out based on this sort of implicit unconscious test
Dialogue: 0,0:27:39.47,0:27:43.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people are often more willing and quicker to
Dialogue: 0,0:27:43.87,0:27:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,associate the face of Tony Blair as American
Dialogue: 0,0:27:46.80,0:27:48.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the face of Barack Obama.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:48.80,0:27:50.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course because Tony Blair has a white face
Dialogue: 0,0:27:50.79,0:27:53.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Barack Obama has a dark face.
Dialogue: 0,0:27:53.61,0:27:59.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, one response to these sorts of studies,\None perfectly legitimate response I think
Dialogue: 0,0:27:59.23,0:28:00.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is say, who cares.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:00.83,0:28:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Consciously, we’re egalitarian, consciously\Nwe’re non-prejudice, we have these weird,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:04.94,0:28:07.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,quirky unconscious biases that drive our behavior\N
Dialogue: 0,0:28:07.95,0:28:11.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when pressing buttons and responding fast.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:11.07,0:28:12.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What difference does it make?
Dialogue: 0,0:28:13.49,0:28:15.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there’s evidence it does make a difference.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:15.57,0:28:19.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s evidence that these unconscious\Nbiases play a role in things that matter very
Dialogue: 0,0:28:19.88,0:28:22.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much in the real world.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:22.07,0:28:25.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So consider some studies by Jack Dovidio and\Nhis colleagues.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:25.82,0:28:31.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They first did this study in 1989, and what\Nit involved is, you give people resumes of
Dialogue: 0,0:28:31.87,0:28:34.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,candidates and these resumes have pictures.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:34.82,0:28:39.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what the subjects and experiment don’t\Nknow is they were always given the same resume,
Dialogue: 0,0:28:39.87,0:28:43.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but half of them got it with a white person,\Nhalf of them a black person.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:43.61,0:28:47.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then they were asked, how strongly would\Nyou recommend this person for a job?
Dialogue: 0,0:28:47.62,0:28:53.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, if these candidates had strong qualifications,\Nthey both would be recommended.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:53.15,0:28:58.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, perhaps the black is a bit more likely\Nto be recommended than the white one.
Dialogue: 0,0:28:58.71,0:29:04.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when they had moderate qualifications,\Nwhen it’s a judgment call, the white candidate
Dialogue: 0,0:29:04.51,0:29:08.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was statistically more like to be recommended\Nfor a job than the black candidate.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:08.98,0:29:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not because these people said, I’m a racist,\NI’m going to do it this way,
Dialogue: 0,0:29:11.40,0:29:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but rather they are swayed by this factor that they might\Nnot have been conscious of.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:16.62,0:29:19.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I said, this was done in 1989.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:19.05,0:29:22.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they did the same study in 1999 and got\Nthe same result.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:22.34,0:29:25.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they did the same study in 2005, and got\Nthe same result.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:26.05,0:29:29.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, we’re at war with ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:29.38,0:29:33.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We have on the one hand these conscious beliefs\Nabout how we think we should think, how we
Dialogue: 0,0:29:33.17,0:29:34.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think we should behave.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:34.33,0:29:37.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand, we have this unconscious\Nsystem that makes all these sorts of decisions
Dialogue: 0,0:29:37.75,0:29:43.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and affects us in ways that we might not know\Nabout, we might not be aware of.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:43.22,0:29:46.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The good news is we’re also smart.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:46.52,0:29:54.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And part of being smart means that we can\Nstructure our world so that we can make it
Dialogue: 0,0:29:54.10,0:29:56.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that unconscious biases matter less.
Dialogue: 0,0:29:57.65,0:30:02.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To give you an example of this, I’ll turn not to race, but to gender.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:02.49,0:30:08.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not too long ago, women were deeply underrepresented\Nin symphony orchestras.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:08.72,0:30:12.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the reason for this, it was argued is\Nbecause they don’t play as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:12.95,0:30:17.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a fair and biased fashion\Nthey’d been judged and they just don’t
Dialogue: 0,0:30:17.31,0:30:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sound as good.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:19.38,0:30:25.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in part, based on these sorts of discoveries,\Nsymphony orchestras began to hold blind auditions.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:30:25.08,0:30:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What they would do is they would have the\Nperson play behind a screen.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:29.20,0:30:34.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The judges won’t know if they are listening to a man or to a woman.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:34.21,0:30:39.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once this was put into place, the representation\Nof women in symphony orchestras shot up.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:39.92,0:30:43.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn’t that originally these were just sexist, to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:30:43.50,0:30:45.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don’t like women; I’m going to count against them.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:45.99,0:30:51.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rather, these were perhaps good, non-sexist\Npeople, who couldn’t help hearing the woman
Dialogue: 0,0:30:51.66,0:30:53.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,differently from the man.
Dialogue: 0,0:30:53.97,0:31:00.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I like this example because it shows how\Nfirst, social psychology and psychology in
Dialogue: 0,0:31:00.00,0:31:02.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,general can shape policy in a good way.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:02.39,0:31:07.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But second, it shows how we’re smart enough\Nto manipulate the world so that our better
Dialogue: 0,0:31:07.51,0:31:09.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,selves get to make the decisions.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:14.09,0:31:17.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third case study I want to talk about\Nis sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:17.68,0:31:23.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when it comes to sex, considerations of\Nevolution become incredibly relevant.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:31:23.82,0:31:30.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think the question of how we evolve and\Nthe question of how our minds are now shaped
Dialogue: 0,0:31:30.11,0:31:34.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in response to evolution pressure is something\Nthat pertains to all of psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:34.17,0:31:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It pertains to, certainly, for how we think\Nabout human groups, certainly for compassion\N
Dialogue: 0,0:31:37.85,0:31:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and morality, and all sorts of other topics\NI haven’t discussed, like perception and
Dialogue: 0,0:31:42.14,0:31:43.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,language and memory.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:43.97,0:31:48.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it’s screamingly obvious in the domain\Nof sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:31:53.63,0:31:58.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As soon as you start thinking about\Nour bodies and our brains, you’re faced
Dialogue: 0,0:31:58.89,0:32:00.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a puzzle.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:00.33,0:32:04.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it’s the sort of a puzzle that can only\Nbe resolved in terms of evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:04.27,0:32:06.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here’s what the puzzle is.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:06.59,0:32:08.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What’s the difference between males and\Nfemales?
Dialogue: 0,0:32:08.89,0:32:13.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, there’s a general answer to this that\Ndoesn’t pertain to any particular species
Dialogue: 0,0:32:13.51,0:32:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that goes across every creature on earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:16.10,0:32:19.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The males are the ones with the small sex\Ncells.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:19.36,0:32:25.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To be a male is to have a sperm, which contains\Ngenetic material, and that’s basically it.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:25.45,0:32:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The females have the large sex cells.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:28.18,0:32:35.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The female sex cell, the egg, also contains\Ngenetic material but it contains a cover,
Dialogue: 0,0:32:35.27,0:32:41.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it contains food, it contains all the apparatus\Nneeded to get an organism growing.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:41.56,0:32:43.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So here’s the puzzle.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:43.90,0:32:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You look around most animals, not all animals,\Nbut most animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:48.49,0:32:53.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the male is bigger and more aggressive.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:53.23,0:32:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So why would the animal with the smaller sex\Ncell tend to grow up to be the bigger animal.
Dialogue: 0,0:32:59.67,0:33:05.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this has been a mystery for a very long\Ntime until an evolutionary biologist named\N
Dialogue: 0,0:33:05.58,0:33:07.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Robert Trivers, solved it.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:07.51,0:33:13.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he solved it by making reference to the\Nidea of parental investment.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:17.80,0:33:23.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Trivers defines parental investment as any\Ninvestment by the parent in an individual
Dialogue: 0,0:33:23.30,0:33:28.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,offspring that increases the offspring’s\Nchances of surviving at the cost of the parent’s
Dialogue: 0,0:33:28.53,0:33:30.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ability to invest in other offspring.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:30.79,0:33:34.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Given the different size in the sex cells
Dialogue: 0,0:33:34.18,0:33:38.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it means that males typicaly have less investment than females.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:38.46,0:33:41.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because in most, though not in all species
Dialogue: 0,0:33:41.06,0:33:44.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the offspring grows inside the females body.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:44.64,0:33:48.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And while that offspring is growing inside the females body
Dialogue: 0,0:33:48.46,0:33:53.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the male is free to have other offspring, but the female is not.
Dialogue: 0,0:33:53.28,0:33:55.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for humans for instance a man can ejaculate
Dialogue: 0,0:33:55.68,0:33:59.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then moments later or hours later
Dialogue: 0,0:33:59.18,0:34:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or however much later can ejaculate again.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:01.95,0:34:05.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's virtually no practical limit
Dialogue: 0,0:34:05.46,0:34:09.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to how many different offspring a man can have.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:09.34,0:34:11.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For a woman when she get's pregnant
Dialogue: 0,0:34:11.45,0:34:14.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she can't have more kids during that period.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:14.39,0:34:17.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact it is difficult for her to have kids even later on when she is breastfeeding.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:17.93,0:34:21.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there is a fairly small number of offspring
Dialogue: 0,0:34:21.01,0:34:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a female human can have.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:23.12,0:34:24.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This makes a difference,
Dialogue: 0,0:34:24.59,0:34:25.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it makes a difference. It makes a difference in the
Dialogue: 0,0:34:25.38,0:34:28.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of economic game theoretic structure.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:28.29,0:34:30.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of human sexuality.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:30.14,0:34:33.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What follows from this from an economic point of view
Dialogue: 0,0:34:33.15,0:34:35.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that males compete with on another
Dialogue: 0,0:34:35.43,0:34:37.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for access to females.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:37.78,0:34:44.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Both males and females want offspring, that’s\Nthe genetic imperative, but males can be more
Dialogue: 0,0:34:44.13,0:34:48.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into number while females can be more into\Nquality.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:48.11,0:34:50.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This leads to competition between males.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:50.03,0:34:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the competition is of two different sorts.
Dialogue: 0,0:34:53.30,0:35:00.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s competition male against male, which\Nleads to the evolution of aggressive trades.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:00.27,0:35:04.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It even leads to the evolution of some species\Nwith special organs, like the giant horns
Dialogue: 0,0:35:04.93,0:35:10.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of some animals that exist for males and not\Nfemales because they’ve evolved according
Dialogue: 0,0:35:10.71,0:35:15.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to this reproductive logic based on the lower\Nparental investment.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:20.78,0:35:25.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It also leads males to evolve certain traits\Nto attract the attention of females.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:25.61,0:35:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Females are the scarce resource here.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:27.67,0:35:30.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Females as a rule are more choosey
Dialogue: 0,0:35:30.25,0:35:34.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when it comes to short term sexual partners than males.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:34.12,0:35:38.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so males compete with one another to attract\Nfemales.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:38.30,0:35:41.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most striking biological example of this\N
Dialogue: 0,0:35:41.61,0:35:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the elaborate, glorious plumage of the peacock.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:46.08,0:35:49.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There’s a carton I enjoy here because the\Npeahens are saying to the peacock,
Dialogue: 0,0:35:49.18,0:35:51.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“Cut the crap and show us your willy.”
Dialogue: 0,0:35:51.92,0:35:56.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which I like because it sounds sort of British,\Nbut I also like because it nicely captures
Dialogue: 0,0:35:56.13,0:35:59.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the evolutionary logic behind what all of\Nthis is for.
Dialogue: 0,0:35:59.88,0:36:02.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, you get to relative choosiness.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:02.91,0:36:08.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Females are, as a rule, more choosy when it\Ncomes to short-term sexual partners than males.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:08.24,0:36:12.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this shows up in a couple of ways, it\Nshows up in prostitution.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:12.26,0:36:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, prostitution is a huge industry in the\Nworld.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:17.03,0:36:21.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And with very few exceptions, prostitutes\Ncater to male customers.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:21.86,0:36:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then there’s pornography.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:23.77,0:36:28.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, pornography may appeal to different sexes,\Nsome people have argued that romance novels
Dialogue: 0,0:36:28.19,0:36:31.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are sort of the equivalent to pornography\Nfor women.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:36:31.63,0:36:36.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what appeals to men is often sort of images\Nof sexually receptive women.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:37.55,0:36:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This isn’t the same as sort of a one-night\Nstand, but is a psychologically vicarious
Dialogue: 0,0:36:42.04,0:36:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one-night stand, where this image is enough\Nto lead to arousal.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:46.88,0:36:50.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The only thing interesting I have to say about\Nthis is a recent study that suggests this
Dialogue: 0,0:36:50.42,0:36:53.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is not exclusively a human vice.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:53.87,0:36:58.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So recent study involved showing pornography\Nto Rhesus Macaques, these are a type of monkey.
Dialogue: 0,0:36:58.25,0:37:02.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question was, would these monkeys pay to see porn?
Dialogue: 0,0:37:02.95,0:37:06.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so you didn’t have a financial system\Nfor these monkeys, so they set up a nice apparatus
Dialogue: 0,0:37:06.71,0:37:10.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where at a certain point, the\Nmonkey had a choice, he could either stare
Dialogue: 0,0:37:10.03,0:37:15.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a picture or turn and sip sweet orange\Njuice; monkeys love orange juice.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:15.72,0:37:19.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the question is, what sort of pictures\Nwould they pay, would they give up on this
Dialogue: 0,0:37:19.72,0:37:21.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,orange juice in order to see?
Dialogue: 0,0:37:21.88,0:37:25.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there were two sorts of pictures that\Nthey would pay to see.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:25.25,0:37:30.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They would pay to see the behinds of female\NRhesus monkeys and they would pay to see the
Dialogue: 0,0:37:30.49,0:37:34.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,faces of high status male Rhesus monkeys.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:34.21,0:37:39.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sort of like the equivalent of a Playboy Magazine\Nand People Magazine, suggesting that two of
Dialogue: 0,0:37:39.75,0:37:47.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the major human vices, pornography and celebrity\Nworship are in fact not uniquely human.
Dialogue: 0,0:37:50.99,0:37:56.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, you can go on about the differences between\Nmales and females in terms of sexual interest
Dialogue: 0,0:37:56.95,0:38:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sexual hues and so on, but I want to focus\Nfor the rest of this case study on certain
Dialogue: 0,0:38:02.46,0:38:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things we have in common.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:04.20,0:38:08.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one thing that we have in common is an\Nattraction to what we would call beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:08.93,0:38:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certain things are beautiful, certain things\Nappeal to us universally.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:14.02,0:38:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some studies find in the first tenth of a\Nsecond after looking at a face, you have computed
Dialogue: 0,0:38:18.94,0:38:20.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how beautiful it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:20.52,0:38:23.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cultures differ tremendously, different times,\Ndifferent places
Dialogue: 0,0:38:23.46,0:38:26.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in what counts as beautiful, what counts as sexually attractive.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:26.28,0:38:32.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is entirely true; there are interesting\Nand powerful differences.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:32.35,0:38:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But at the same time, there are also universals.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:38:34.60,0:38:38.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are certain things that people everywhere\Nfind attractive.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:38.94,0:38:44.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we can use evolutionary theory to makes\Nsense of the sort of things people find as
Dialogue: 0,0:38:44.29,0:38:45.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beautiful.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:45.29,0:38:50.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So to some extent, beauty equates to youth.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:50.42,0:38:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hues like round eyes, full lips, smooth tight\Nskin.
Dialogue: 0,0:38:54.94,0:38:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most likely it is because they are cues the person is young,
Dialogue: 0,0:38:58.86,0:39:02.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is able to have kids, has many years ahead of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:02.03,0:39:03.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so on.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:03.19,0:39:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Beauty also equates to health.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:05.74,0:39:07.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are drawn to features like
Dialogue: 0,0:39:07.03,0:39:11.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,absence of deformities, clear eyes, unblemished skin
Dialogue: 0,0:39:11.90,0:39:14.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intact teeth, and average faces.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:14.76,0:39:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you might think, average faces?
Dialogue: 0,0:39:17.03,0:39:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That’s strange thing to put in beautiful,\Nas a category of beautiful.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:20.24,0:39:23.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it turns out average faces actually look\Nreally good.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:39:23.55,0:39:30.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what an average face does is it gets rid\Nof all of the things that are unusual and
Dialogue: 0,0:39:30.43,0:39:33.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people tend to find it quite attractive.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:33.59,0:39:36.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now one accusation that always comes up in\Nthese situations is,
Dialogue: 0,0:39:36.53,0:39:38.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who did you get this data from?
Dialogue: 0,0:39:38.41,0:39:44.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact, psychologists are often guilty\Nof collecting data from 24 university freshmen
Dialogue: 0,0:39:44.03,0:39:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then saying that these conclusions apply\Nto all of humanity, but not in this case.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:49.39,0:39:54.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this case, studies of human attractiveness\Nhave been done cross-culturally and you get
Dialogue: 0,0:39:54.23,0:39:56.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,pretty much the same findings wherever you\Ngo.
Dialogue: 0,0:39:56.85,0:40:03.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Again, there’s some interesting differences,\Nbut these universals seem to always be attractive.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:03.06,0:40:07.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The work that’s most exciting to me along\Nthese lines is actually done with babies.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:40:07.96,0:40:13.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So adults can rank faces as attractive or\Nunattractive, but you can also see what babies
Dialogue: 0,0:40:13.37,0:40:15.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,think about faces.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:40:15.03,0:40:21.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it turns out, using babies looking time\Nas a measure for what they like to see.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:21.76,0:40:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So how long will they look at a face?
Dialogue: 0,0:40:24.32,0:40:30.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out that babies preference for attractive\Nfaces match pretty well adults preferences
Dialogue: 0,0:40:30.14,0:40:31.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for attractive faces.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:31.70,0:40:35.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for instance, in some wonderful work by\NLanguar[ph] and her colleagues, she would
Dialogue: 0,0:40:35.93,0:40:41.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,show different degrees of averageness across\Nfaces, composites of more and more people.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:41.46,0:40:45.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see this in these faces are not the\Nfaces of real people, these faces are computer
Dialogue: 0,0:40:45.53,0:40:51.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,composites of multiple people and they are\Nnot bad looking, but you can get better than
Dialogue: 0,0:40:51.29,0:40:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,average for both males and females.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:40:53.38,0:40:58.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For females, many people will judge a face\Nbetter than average if it’s feminized.
Dialogue: 0,0:40:58.67,0:41:05.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you take the features that define a face\Nas female and you exaggerate them, as in the
Dialogue: 0,0:41:05.04,0:41:10.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,picture on the right, it tends to look a little\Nbit better than your average female face.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:10.44,0:41:13.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For men, you could do the same thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:13.24,0:41:15.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can take faces and
Dialogue: 0,0:41:15.37,0:41:19.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take your average male face and turn it into\Ntestosterone man, which is the face that you’re
Dialogue: 0,0:41:19.94,0:41:21.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking at on the left.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:21.47,0:41:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out that women’s responses to testosterone\Nman differ according to whether or not they’re
Dialogue: 0,0:41:26.75,0:41:28.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ovulating.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:28.66,0:41:34.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if a woman is ovulating, she is more likely\Nto find this manliest of man face attractive,
Dialogue: 0,0:41:34.89,0:41:39.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while if not, she tends to go back to just\Nfind average man more attractive.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:39.69,0:41:42.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there's different theories of precisely why this is so.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:42.70,0:41:47.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It does suggest that our sexual psychologies\Nconnect with our reproductive preferences
Dialogue: 0,0:41:47.05,0:41:49.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in all sorts of interesting ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:49.18,0:41:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But there’s a lot more to looking\Ngood than how you look.
Dialogue: 0,0:41:57.80,0:42:02.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out, how attractive you find a face\N
Dialogue: 0,0:42:02.45,0:42:05.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is critically dependent on how much you like the person.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:05.59,0:42:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The more you like somebody, the better they look to you.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:09.32,0:42:12.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is why spouses and happy marraiges
Dialogue: 0,0:42:12.79,0:42:16.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will honestly find their husband or wife
Dialogue: 0,0:42:16.03,0:42:20.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,far more attractive than anyone else finds them.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:20.10,0:42:22.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is true more generally.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:22.13,0:42:25.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a classic study, David Bus,
Dialogue: 0,0:42:25.48,0:42:28.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tested people from 37 different cultures around the world
Dialogue: 0,0:42:28.90,0:42:31.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and asked who is your perfect mate?
Dialogue: 0,0:42:31.67,0:42:34.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was largely looking for sex differences in theses studies
Dialogue: 0,0:42:34.50,0:42:36.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he found them, he found all sorts of differences
Dialogue: 0,0:42:36.02,0:42:39.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in what men were looking for and in what women were looking for.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:39.97,0:42:43.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But he also found one similarity, one thing
Dialogue: 0,0:42:43.10,0:42:45.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one way in which women and men were alike.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:45.85,0:42:49.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this is that for both, the number one quality
Dialogue: 0,0:42:49.54,0:42:51.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people were looking for in a mate
Dialogue: 0,0:42:51.94,0:42:53.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was kindness.
Dialogue: 0,0:42:54.24,0:42:56.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of this in the domain of sex
Dialogue: 0,0:42:56.26,0:42:58.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,supports a moral from Shakespeare
Dialogue: 0,0:42:58.19,0:43:02.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is "love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind".
Dialogue: 0,0:43:06.60,0:43:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I have done is I have very briefly talked about
Dialogue: 0,0:43:09.68,0:43:12.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,three case studies in the domain of psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:12.25,0:43:14.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I talked about compassion,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:14.30,0:43:16.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I talked about racism,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:16.10,0:43:18.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I have talked about sex.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:18.51,0:43:21.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the course of this I've tried to illustrate
Dialogue: 0,0:43:21.08,0:43:24.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,certain themes in the study of psychology, in general.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:24.55,0:43:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact I started by listing six domains of psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:29.18,0:43:33.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Neuroscience, I started by talking about the babies brain
Dialogue: 0,0:43:33.64,0:43:35.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gave that as a starting point
Dialogue: 0,0:43:35.53,0:43:38.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the question of the development of compassion
Dialogue: 0,0:43:38.15,0:43:39.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the development of these other traits.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:39.86,0:43:42.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but every domain of psychology every
Dialogue: 0,0:43:42.25,0:43:43.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aspect of our mental life
Dialogue: 0,0:43:43.96,0:43:46.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is caused by our physical brains.
Dialogue: 0,0:43:46.01,0:43:50.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in fact, in all of these domains I’ve\Ntalked about, compassion and moral psychology
Dialogue: 0,0:43:50.47,0:43:56.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more general, race and stereotyping and\Nthinking about groups, and sex and sexuality,
Dialogue: 0,0:43:56.03,0:43:58.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people have used the methods of neuroscience\N
Dialogue: 0,0:43:58.52,0:44:01.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to better understand how the mind works in\Nthese domains.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:03.07,0:44:07.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’ve talked about development and I focused\Nmostly in development on the first case study\N
Dialogue: 0,0:44:07.47,0:44:12.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of compassion, but of course there’s a huge\Namount of very interesting research on the
Dialogue: 0,0:44:12.78,0:44:17.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,development of our understanding of groups\Nasking the question, for instance, are young
Dialogue: 0,0:44:17.28,0:44:18.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,children racist?
Dialogue: 0,0:44:18.79,0:44:20.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do young children have complicit biases?
Dialogue: 0,0:44:21.68,0:44:27.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course in the development of romance\Nand sexuality, how does the mind of a child
Dialogue: 0,0:44:27.75,0:44:33.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before puberty differ and how much is it like\Nthe mind of an adult after puberty and how
Dialogue: 0,0:44:33.89,0:44:35.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,did these differs take place?
Dialogue: 0,0:44:35.20,0:44:38.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are extraordinarily interesting developmental\Nquestions.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:39.35,0:44:45.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All three domains connect to social psychology and cognitive psychology in clear ways.\N
Dialogue: 0,0:44:45.57,0:44:49.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are all questions about social psychology,\Nthey are all questions about dealing with
Dialogue: 0,0:44:49.93,0:44:52.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other people; how we deal with and make sense\Nout of other people.
Dialogue: 0,0:44:52.94,0:44:59.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they all connect to questions of cognitive\Npsychology, like the perception of faces,
Dialogue: 0,0:44:59.28,0:45:05.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the formation of categories, the comprehension\Nof stories; those are all central parts of
Dialogue: 0,0:45:05.64,0:45:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cognitive psychology and central to understanding\Nthe domains we’ve talked about here.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:11.37,0:45:16.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We’ve talked about evolution, particularly\Nagain, in the case of sexuality.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:16.55,0:45:21.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of course, the evolutionary psychology\Nof morality and compassion is a fascinating\N
Dialogue: 0,0:45:21.75,0:45:27.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,issues connecting it with research done with\Nother primates, our evolutionary relatives
Dialogue: 0,0:45:27.18,0:45:30.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like chimpanzees and monkeys.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:30.20,0:45:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’ve said the least about clinical psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:32.68,0:45:36.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Clinical psychology is extraordinarily interesting\Nand also connects to each of the domains that
Dialogue: 0,0:45:36.86,0:45:38.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I’ve talked about.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:38.41,0:45:42.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People are interested in the psychopathology\Nrelated to sexuality.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:42.31,0:45:49.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They’re particularly interested in the psychopathology\Nin mental illness in the domain of morality
Dialogue: 0,0:45:49.14,0:45:55.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because this connects to one of the most troubling\Nand one of the most interesting questions
Dialogue: 0,0:45:55.38,0:45:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in clinical psychology, which concerns the\Npsychopath.
Dialogue: 0,0:45:59.35,0:46:05.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are some of us, apparently, who don’t\Nhave consciences, who don’t feel compassion,
Dialogue: 0,0:46:06.29,0:46:11.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who will destroy other people’s lives out\Nof malice or self-interest or simple boredom.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:12.86,0:46:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the question of where psychopaths come\Nfrom, what’s the precise nature of what’s
Dialogue: 0,0:46:18.12,0:46:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going wrong with them.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:20.05,0:46:24.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of all, what can be done about them are\Nissues of extraordinary interest.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:28.71,0:46:31.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Psychology is the perfect liberal arts major
Dialogue: 0,0:46:31.54,0:46:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it connects across all these interesting disciplines
Dialogue: 0,0:46:35.09,0:46:38.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and gives you intellectual tools, tools that we share
Dialogue: 0,0:46:38.44,0:46:41.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with philosophers and we share with chemists
Dialogue: 0,0:46:41.07,0:46:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we share with people who study english literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:44.84,0:46:48.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It brings them all together in the project of studying the mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:46:48.76,0:46:51.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every interesting question in psychology is also an
Dialogue: 0,0:46:51.58,0:46:55.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,interesting question for scholars outside psychology.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:00.07,0:47:03.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We've made huge progress over the last many years
Dialogue: 0,0:47:03.89,0:47:06.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in understanding mental life.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:06.08,0:47:10.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I think there's no reason to expect this progress to stop.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:10.88,0:47:14.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think that in the end
Dialogue: 0,0:47:14.09,0:47:17.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the most important and intimate aspects of ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:47:17.78,0:47:20.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how we understand people, our emotions, our motivations
Dialogue: 0,0:47:20.81,0:47:25.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our desires, our sense of right and wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:25.00,0:47:27.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can be understood through the methods of scientific\Npsychology
Dialogue: 0,0:47:27.97,0:47:30.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through constructing and testing hypotheses.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:30.22,0:47:32.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Through bringing to bear considerations
Dialogue: 0,0:47:32.84,0:47:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,based on evolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:34.40,0:47:37.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and computation and neuroscience.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:38.53,0:47:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, some people might find this a scary prospect.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:42.14,0:47:46.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know that there are some people that worry\Nthat a scientific perspective of the mind
Dialogue: 0,0:47:46.25,0:47:48.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes away from us somehow.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:48.48,0:47:49.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It diminishes us.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:49.56,0:47:51.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It makes us less than what we are.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:51.59,0:47:52.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don’t agree.
Dialogue: 0,0:47:52.57,0:47:57.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have the opposite reaction, which is that\Nas the more you understand the mind from a
Dialogue: 0,0:47:57.78,0:48:03.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,serious scientific point of view; the more\Nyou come to appreciate its complexity, its
Dialogue: 0,0:48:03.00,0:48:04.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,uniqueness and its beauty.
Dialogue: 0,0:48:05.05,0:48:06.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.